I Still Can
by joyusbabs
Summary: Fell's Church just can't seem to catch a break when it comes to danger. Now, it's a vampire hell-bent on returning all vampires on earth to the Dark Dimension. Stefan, Elena, and the rest of the gang are about to face their most staggering enemy yet, and to make matters worse, Stefan is still trying to cope after losing Damon. Rated T for safety. Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Overwhelming

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It is cold and dark. The place was desolate, and covered in ash. He walks around lost, not knowing where he was, yet it seems so familiar in a way, like he has some sort of tie to this horrible place. He wonders if he's dead and now has to live out his afterlife in some sort of never-ending desolate hell type place, yet somewhere deep inside of him he knows he's not dead. He doesn't know how he knows, but he knows. He wishes that he would finally find whatever it is that he's supposed to be looking for. He knows he's here for some reason, but the reason is unknown to him.

The overwhelming darkness looms over him, and he continues to wander barely able to see an inch in front of his nose. He's scared, and that's saying something because he doesn't get scared that easily or in fact at all. Well, he's been scared before, but never frightened like this that's for sure. He can still remember that horrible day, when he lost his constant, his brother. He remembers how he'd barely enough time to say goodbye, and some small part of him resents Elena for that, for taking his time with his brother away during his final breath. He doesn't think that he can ever forgive her for that, but a larger part of him still loves her, cherishes her. He is overwhelmed with devotion. He just wishes that above all he had his brother back.

_"Damon!" He screamed. His entire world seemed to have shattered in that second. He was hoping, beyond belief that the tree had barely missed, but he knew it wasn't true. He watched as his brother coughed up blood and then their eyes met, but only for a second, because immediately afterwards his scared dark eyes rolled back up into his head and his head lolled to the side frighteningly limp. His whole body seemed to have lost its power, its life. He had to choke, scream, cry, all at once, but it only came out as barely a whimper. Some part of him was warning him that if he did, he's accepting that his brother's dead, and he just couldn't do it. He couldn't bring himself to do it, until Elena started ranting._

_He wanted to choke her, rip her head off just to make her shut-up. His brother is…oh, gosh, his brother is really dead. The legendary tree that is supposed to kill vampires on its own actually took down his older brother. His brother was frightened in that moment, and he remembers hoping urgently pleading that his brother died instantly, because the legends couldn't be true. His brother could not be going through an immense amount of pain, while dying alone in an unresponsive shell. That thought scared him more than anything. _

_"Elena, he can't!" He remembers shouting. The tears started to pour down his cheeks as he looked at her confused face. Why couldn't she understand? Then it's as if a miracle happened she did. She finally understood what had happened. _

_She immediately cut his brother from the tree, but the poison had already done its work. He doesn't remember when he brought an axe, but he was glad that he had it. His brother lay fearfully still, and Stefan immediately bent down, cradled his brother's head, opened the eyes ever so gently, and then after he glanced back up at Elena, who was now screaming, he looked back down at his brother, took a deep breath, and as he closed those cloudy, dead eyes, he laid his brother's head down so he could rest. He could barely stand up and move away before Elena bombarded his brother with numerous shouts and questions. She needed to have the decency to let his brother go. He was gone, and he wasn't coming back. This was the end for him and his brother. He remembers hating his brother for this past trip. They butted heads and didn't get along, but he took it for granted. He knows how his brother is, too prideful and impulsive to admit to mistakes, so he should have done something more. _

_Then, when it turned out that his brother wasn't dead, yet. He barely got to say goodbye, before he felt like he was being shoved out of the way by Elena. He didn't want to yell at her, because this was a hard time for everyone, but now he wishes that he had. He had so much to tell his brother before he died. That he was sorry, and that it's going to be okay. _

Stefan is pulled out of the memory, when he sees a light in the distance, around the bend of the…what was he on? Why did it look so familiar to him? He decided to go to the light; because if anything he would find answers there he was sure of it, and maybe he would find out what this place was and why he was here.

As he treks to the small stump, he notices that now his entire legs are trying to move through the loose ash, which never seems to stop falling. He has to push his way through, but he's almost there he can feel it. Where here is, he doesn't know, but something inside of him is telling him that he'll find his answers soon enough.

He finally stops, where his impulse is telling him to stop and looks around. He's nearly thigh deep in the loose, mystical ash, and he can see nothing. The light is gloomier, since he approached it, and he decides that he's got to keep moving, while he can still see.

As he tries to press on, he finds that there's an obstacle in his way. He swallows hard, wondering what could be hidden in the deep, dark ash. He decides to investigate and he starts to dig, tossing the handfuls of ash to the side.

What he finds makes him want to scream and even faint. It's a hand! It's a freaking hand! Why there's a hand, he doesn't know, but he lifts the hand out of the ash, and it seems to be attached to a full body. Whoever it is, is undoubtedly dead as their hand is cold and looks like it's decaying and the body is completely pliant with his tugging and pulling. Something shiny in the gloomy light however catches his eye. He looks down at the hand and wants to throw up, immediately. On the hand is what looks to be a replica of his brother's lapis lazuli ring. He starts to pull the body up more urgently and he screams when he sees the dirt covered face of his brother. He immediately cradles the body in his arms, as tears noisily run down his cheeks cleaning off the dirt wherever they land on his brother.

His raven black hair is matted and his face even under the dirt looks like it's decaying and pale. The lips are purple, and the body seems to have lost a lot of weight.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so, so, so very sorry!" He shouts as he buries his face in his brother's matted, dirty black hair. He cries as he kisses his brother on the forehead. His brother is forever abandoned to rot on this moon, because Elena had to do a spell with her powers causing an eruption. Sage had barely enough time to get Elena, Bonnie, and him out, and he couldn't bother with grabbing the dead body of Stefan's brother and his closest friend.

"Stefan?" He hears a voice, but when he looks down, his brother isn't talking. He remains limp and dead in his arms.

"Damon?" He asks, still hoping that his brother is able to talk to him.

"Stefan." The voice says more certainly.

"Damon? Is that you?" He barely manages to ask.

"Please, Stefan, wake up!" He hears Elena's voice say urgently.

He opens his eyes to find Elena standing over him, worry and sympathy clouding her bright blue eyes. "We were all going to go out for the day, and I came up here to get you, because you didn't come down."

"Oh," He says calmly, "I'm sorry."

"What were you dreaming about?" Elena asks simply.

"Nothing, just nothing." Stefan replies back curtly.

Elena nods solemnly, and I get out of bed and quickly get dressed. She seems to regard him for a moment before she speaks, "Come on the others are waiting." She walks out the door leaving him to follow behind her. He suppresses his tears and grieving, determined to have a good day even if it kills him. Oh, the irony.

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**AN: Okay, so this is the first chapter, to ****_I Still Can_****…let me know if you like it. I can't wait to see your reviews. This idea has been bothering me for so long lately, and when I was writing this, it tried to explode out of my mind…lol. Okay, so let me know if you think I should continue this or leave it as a one-shot, because I have a long story planned out for this. This could very well be spoilers for the Hunters Trilogy, so if you continue to read, be warned. Anyways review please. Oh, and for those of you who are waiting…I'm working on the next chapter to ****_Save Me_****, but I think I'm going to end that story quickly, because I notice that not a lot of you seem to be reading and reviewing on that, and it's gotten so far away from what I wanted. Just thought I'd let you know that I haven't forgotten about that. Oh, and also, I need imput on whether or not you guys want me to continue on with ****_Trouble_****, too. Post reviews to the corresponding stories that you'd like to see continue, because otherwise I'm in the dark. Okay, once again review please. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: No Family**

Stefan walks out of the boarding house and sees his friends waiting for him.

"Okay, we know that you've been going through some stuff these past two years, and we want to be able to show you that we're here for you." Matt explains.

"We know that this is your birthday, and we wanted to spend the day together and have fun." Elena says cheerily.

Stefan manages to smile. He can't keep getting consumed with his brother, he knows that everyone else has moved on, and he needs to learn to appreciate the good memories that he has with his brother, and accept his future for what it is. "Okay."

"Okay, good, wonderful!" Meredith says a little over enthusiastically. It doesn't fit her personality, but he's not going to question it.

He forgot today was his birthday. In two days his brother will have been dead exactly two years. He can't be bothered with thinking about it though, because it just makes him sick.

When they wound up coming back, it was nighttime, and the town was fixed up. The next morning when he managed to tell the others, he pictured that they'd be cheering and happy, but in fact they were just the opposite. They wept and cried with him, and they showed sympathy.

He gets in the car with his friends, and Elena sits in between Meredith and him, while Bonnie and Matt sit up front. Matt is driving.

"So, since today is like your 600th birthday or something what do you want to do today?" Bonnie asks.

"I don't know. I'm sort of relying on you to show me what's fun; since as my brother use to say, I'm the fun vacuum of any group." Stefan laughs, reminiscing, "Of course he said that in Italian, and it was when we were human, so the term was much different, but still the essence is there." He explains on a solemn note. He notices that everyone went silent, "I'm sorry, I should stop with the Damon reminiscing moments I know. I know I drag everyone down with them."

"Stefan," Matt says in a scolding voice, "He was your brother and you spent over five hundred years as nothing but brothers, always with each other. I wouldn't be surprised if it took you nearly a century, no matter how unreal that is to me, to get over the fact that he is dead." Matt says the last part very softly.

Stefan frowns and nods, "Yes, you're probably right, but today I'm going to spend it with you guys, and have fun." He says resolutely.

"Okay, then, let's get going shall we!" Bonnie exclaims with effort.

They all nod together and pile into their vehicles and end up together in town, just outside of a restaurant. "Tory!" Elena, Bonnie, and Meredith all exclaim at once, upon seeing their brunette friend. She's standing anxiously in front of the restaurant.

She hears their voices and looks over to see her three friends accompanied by two men. "Hello, I didn't know I'd be seeing you." Tory says as she approaches them in the parking lot. They just got out of their cars and are on the edge of the curb talking with her.

"We didn't know you'd be here either," Elena addresses, "What are you doing? You like you're waiting for someone."

"Yeah, my brother and my boyfriend are finally in town. My brother was supposed to be escorting him here, and they should be here by now, but umm…as you can see I'm stuck awaiting their arrival." Tory sighs. "So, who are these fine young gentlemen you've gotten to escort you?"

"Oh, this is Stefan Salvatore, my boyfriend," Elena explains, and Stefan extends his hand to Tory and Tory frowns as she shakes it, "And this is Matt Donovan, Bonnie's boyfriend, and Meredith's boyfriend Alaric is currently out of town working on his studies."

Tory nods, as she shakes Matt's hand and then looks back to Stefan as if she's studying him. She notices that he has a striking resemblance to her boyfriend, but she doesn't think to question it any longer.

Stefan notices that Tory is not fully human. He can't put his finger on it, but she's most definitely not human, but the power emanating off of her is not hostile, so he isn't going to question it.

"Well, shall we get a table, so we can eat and await the arrival of your boyfriend and brother, Peter, right?" Meredith asks.

Tory nods, "Yeah, that's my brother all right."

"What's your boyfriend's name?" Elena asks.

"Ummm…not important. He's not important. I've been stood up as you put it and am determined to make a night out of it anyways," Tory explains resolutely, "So, what have you got planned tonight, that I can't join in on with you guys."

"Well, we were about to celebrate!" Bonnie answers excitedly.

"Awesome, celebrate what?" Tory asks.

"Nothing, it's just going to be a random spontaneous celebration." Meredith replies.

"Oh, awesome, I love those!" Tory smiles with naïve happiness.

"Those are the best kind." Bonnie agrees.

"So, what do you say, Tory, want to join us?" Matt asks.

"Oh, no, I could never, my boyfriend—" She's interrupted.

"Forget about them, they stood you up." Elena states.

"I don't know my boyfriend's really strict when it comes to this stuff, and besides he should be coming any minute." She bites her lip.

Elena looks at her friend with concern. "Well, if you change your mind you know where we'll be."

Stefan, Matt, Elena, Meredith, and Bonnie all walk inside the restaurant. They take their seats and after they order their food they stare at one another.

"That's jerky of her boyfriend, to stand her up like that. He could at least call." Bonnie sneers.

"Well, we can't do much about it." Meredith reminds them.

"Well, when I meet that boyfriend of hers I'm going to give him a piece of my mind." Bonnie says defiantly.

"I'm sure he'll never be late again." Matt says with wide-eyes.

"Did you guys notice something off about her? I mean her aura didn't feel fully human. It sort of felt and I know you guys are going to laugh at me, but it felt sort of like a kitsune's aura." Stefan explains with a frown.

"Oh, believe me we know what she is, Stefan. I'm a psychic remember, I'm supposed to pick up on this stuff." Bonnie laughs.

"Don't you guys remember the last kitsune we ran into?" Stefan says in a scolding whisper.

"Relax, Stefan, Tory's nothing like that. She's the nicest person you could ever meet." Matt placates. "Trust me it took us all a long time to get over the fact that she's one of those two-faced little monsters, but she explained to us that she wants nothing to do with the 'kitsune call of duty' as they call it. Her brother is the nicest guy you could meet, too."

"Her boyfriend seems like the one we have to worry about. He seems like a piece of work." Elena growls.

Stefan suddenly sits up straight in his seat, and the others tense up as well as a result.

"What is it?" Meredith asks with a frown.

"Well, well, hello there dear friends of mine." Ethan says tightly.

"Ethan," Stefan says tightly, "What do you want?"

"I've come to discuss some things with you, but it cannot be in public, there are ears around us." Ethan says, "Come with me, I swear this is something that you need to hear."

His tone causes the others to go into alarm. They follow him out of the restaurant without question and come to the side of the building in the alley way.

"Ethan, what's going on?" Meredith asks inquisitively.

"There have been rumors of a strong vampire coming to the surface from the Dark Dimension. At least they started out as rumors, now I believe they are true. They say he's looking to control this world. They say he's somewhere around a thousand years old, and he's almost as strong as Klaus." Ethan explains.

"Where did you hear this?" Stefan asks at the same time Matt asks, "Is he an Old One?"

"No, he isn't an Old One, but I heard this from a friend of mine back north. He claims to have intel on this. He says that Europe has already been taken, and according to my friend he does this through penetrating covens and imputing his men into it. I've kept records on all of my men since I heard this, as has he, and we haven't noticed anyone strange or new as of yet, but rumor has it he's here, like here, here." Ethan explains with a note of alarm in his voice.

"This is absurd. Earth is not that kind of place." Stefan argues.

"I know but this vampire doesn't seem to care. They say he's strict, old-fashioned, a true hard leader, and they say his numbers are endless." Ethan answers.

"So, what you're telling me is that an old vampire, who is very powerful, is looking to control us?" Stefan shakes his head disbelievingly, "Do we know what he looks like, what his men look like?"

"No, but I'm working on it. We need to watch out for this. Create an army, and be prepared to fight when the time comes. As far as I know he goes undefeated." Ethan warns.

"No, by create an army you mean turn innocent people, and we don't even know how many we need to turn." Stefan growls under his breath.

"Would you rather he takes control?" Ethan reasons.

"I'm not going to allow you to turn anymore innocent people." Stefan says scorning.

"It's either that or we all die at his hands." Ethan half shouts in response.

"We'll find another way. We have two witches, two hunters, you and your vampires, Elena, Matt, and me. We can find another way." Stefan says resolutely.

**AN: Okay, wow! Long time no update, haha. Anyways, can't wait to read your reviews. I know, I know this chapter sucked. Don't need to tell me that, but I needed to set the story up anyways. Well, it looks like trouble is ensued for Fell's Church. Let me know if I should continue with this story or not. Thank you.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: What now?**

"You know, I can't remember the last time this town wasn't being targeted by some sort of maniac with a power complex." Matt groans, "I blame you and your brother." He says as he turns to Stefan.

"Matt, please." Elena says, defensively.

"Oh, come on, Elena, he's right. This town has been plagued. Two very old vampires come to a town, dead set on seeking a fresh start as well as some form of retribution for what they've lost, it's bound to cause the supernatural entities to look this way." Stefan reasons.

Elena frowns. She doesn't exactly know what to say to that. She can't however, blame Stefan for this, not even Damon. _Damon_ her heard clenches at that name, and tears are threatening to come from her eyes when she thinks about him. Oh, gosh, he's rotting away on that moon. It's just tragic. She should have done more. He died saving Bonnie. If only Bonnie hadn't have been there. Why did Damon, have to have a soft spot for her? It's not that she wants Bonnie to die, because she absolutely does not, but if she wouldn't have clung to him so tightly that night, and if Damon had been more willing to man-handle her away from him, she wouldn't have been there, and Damon would be alive. She, Stefan, and Damon would have been continuing in their relationship. She never had the chance to figure out her feelings for Damon, and now she never will, because what good is it going to do her? Nothing, that's what it'll do for her, _nothing_. The effort will be long past its usefulness.

"You know, I hate to say it, but maybe Ethan's right." Stefan shrugs, "I mean, whatever the motives of this vampire are, if we have to turn a couple more people it might end up saving the world."

"You don't mean that." Meredith says. "You can't mean that. We've faced Klaus and still we've come out on top. I mean, after he was brought back by Ethan, we still beat him. We can take down this vampire. He's not even an Old One. We've faced difficulties before, let's not give up now."

"I'll call Sage and hopefully, he's got some information on this vampire, then. If he came from the Dark Dimension, short of going there ourselves would be asking Sage about him." Stefan says.

"Good." Meredith says in response.

"Bonnie, would you do the honors, of contacting him, please?" Stefan says turning to the red head in the room.

She nods and disappears with Mrs. Flowers. The two set to work on contacting Sage.

"You know, Sage has never been one not to disclose information to us, regarding dangerous things, so I wonder why he hasn't already made an appearance here." Matt thinks out loud.

"I think you're thinking too hard into this, Matt." Elena says, "Sage has always been on our side, he's busy. He probably got sidetracked."

Matt sighs, "I hope that's what happened, I do, but we can't ignore the facts."

Elena's about to rebuttal him, but Stefan cuts her off, "Actually, Elena, he's right, think about it. Sage has been there for us every step of the way, ever since Damon's reunion with him down there, and now he's just MIA, I think we need to keep open minds here. Let's not jump to either conclusion, but let's just stay unbiased."

Elena frowns. How can she rebut that? She doesn't like to look at the bad in people, especially those, who have proven themselves good over and over again, but she can't stop feeling that something isn't right.

"All right, we've contacted Sage, he said he'll be here within the hour." Bonnie says as she comes down the stairs with Mrs. Flowers trailing behind her.

"Mrs. Flowers, did you ever ask your mother if she knows anything?" Stefan asks.

"Well, she did make a comment to me about a year ago, about spirits in uproar, because there's been disturbances, but I didn't want to bore you. But now that I think about it she did mutter something about an older vampire finding his way out, what do you know about this vampire?" She answers.

"Nothing really, we're hoping Meredith's boyfriend, Alaric, will be able to figure something out, but other than what Ethan told us we know nothing." Stefan says.

"Okay, so we need to come up with a plan." Elena says resolutely, "Like maybe we should use his tactics against him. Ethan says that this vampire is known to destroy covens from the inside out, so we send a man into his army and learn about him."

"We don't even know where he is, Elena, that wouldn't work." Matt dismisses.

"Well, I heard that you all needed my assistance. Bonnie informed it was something of grave importance." Sage announces as he walks through the doorway into the house.

"Sage, good to see you." Stefan smiles as he hugs the other vampire.

"Good to see you as well, Mon cher." Sage says as he hugs him in return. They smile as they pull away.

"Well, we were informed from another vampire here, that there's a vampire fresh out of the Dark Dimension, who's looking to take over the covens here. Have you heard anything?" Matt asks bluntly.

Sage's eyes go wide for a moment in surprise, but then he quickly regains his composure, "Well, I have heard that Princess Jesselyn was searching for your brother," He points to Stefan, "Apparently she was the pure blood he found to turn him back with all of his original five hundred year old strength, but about a century and a half ago down there, she stopped the search. I don't know why, but I guess that now she's looking for control, claims she's got a vampire originally from the top side working for her. Apparently this vampire already waged a war against the guardians and took them over. My post has been and always will be the chamber with the doors, but the guardians are now working for these vampires. They haven't touched me, I really don't think they have any reason too. It's been different down there. This vampire really cleaned up the class system. It's better in some ways now, at least better than it was." Sage explains.

"Have you heard anything about this vampire?" Stefan asks suddenly intrigued.

"I did in fact hear, that this vampire has a tattoo running down practically the whole left side of his upper body. I heard that he wears dark clothing that covers the thing. I've never caught a glimpse of him myself, but I've talked to my friend who has. He says he's not someone you want to piss off." Sage says as he sits down.

"Why didn't you inform us of this?" Matt asks.

"It wasn't something I can just bring up. I didn't realize he was coming up here, and what he did down there isn't exactly a bad thing. The kitsunes no longer have indirect control over the place, and in fact I heard he has a thing with one." Sage explains.

"So, Princess Jesselyn is leading this?" Bonnie asks.

"No, no, I've heard that this vampire rules by his own terms, but he did however form a deal, they rule in sort of a mutual partnership. She's been moved somewhere else, I can't find her to question her, but supposedly she and this vampire have some sort of mutual agreement. So, he's really up here, huh?" Sage asks inquisitively.

"You really didn't know?" Stefan frowns.

"No, I didn't. I apologize for that, but ever since the guardians have been overruled, I've sort of been cut out of the loop. Like I said, it's not like they've taken my post from me yet." Sage shrugs.

"Do you know what his aim is?" Stefan asks.

Sage shakes his head, "I'm sorry, I don't know that either, but I did hear that he wants to return the species to the shadows, if that means anything to you."

"That makes no sense." Elena mutters.

Sage shrugs, "That's all know."

"Okay, so we have no leads on this vampire's whereabouts and we have no idea what he looks like." Stefan mumbles to himself.

"I heard is girlfriend has been here for quite some time, if that helps. She's a kitsune, but a lot nicer than normal. I did hear that she has a brother, who goes to and fro between here and the Dark Dimension. He's supposed to escort him or something like that." Sage explains.

"One kitsune, and she could be anywhere." Meredith says desolately. "That still leaves us in the dark."

Stefan seems to have come up with an idea. He looks pointedly at Sage, "Would you know the kitsunes if you saw them or heard their name?"

Sage thinks about that, "I think I caught a glimpse of the girl once, why? As for their names I know they weren't Japanese or traditional kitsune names, but I'm sorry I'd have to see a face."

"How long have you known Tori?" Stefan asks Elena bluntly.

"What?" Elena asks appalled. "Stefan, Tori's a friend."

"For about a year." Meredith answers, ignoring Elena's protest.

Elena gives her a scorning look, "Are you seriously thinking that it's Tori?"

"Look, her boyfriend was being escorted to her by her brother Peter. Tori and Peter are both kitsunes. I think that we need to consider all our options here." Stefan explains stoically.

"So, now we're accusing our friends of crap?" Elena interjects.

Everyone looks at her, "Think about it logically, Elena, Stefan's the least partial towards her, so he'd have the clearest head when it comes to her. It might not be that far off. We could very well be talking to the girlfriend of the vampire, who's apparently coming for us." Meredith tries to reason.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Leader

It's not that he thought it was going to be easy, taking over the vampire community on Earth, but he expected it to be somewhat challenging, however in the end he would succeed, yet what he found was disappointing. He did not need the numbers he had procured from Princess Jesselyn, and in fact he could probably have done it with far, far less vampires, but frankly, he believed in absolute submission. Call him an old-age idealist or whatever, but he believed in the absolute that was being king. He was a leader for crying out loud, and he's now got the east coast of the world to handle, and then all the vampires will be sucked back down into the Dark Dimension where they belong. He's not an Old One, but he knows that he's powerful. He knew it when he woke up, when he was found by Tori and Peter. They helped him regain his strength, and although they could never help him regain his memories, he regained something that his gut was telling him that he was sorely missing, companionship. He felt empty when he woke up, he was alone, too, much to his chagrin, but now he's far from it. He finds no amusement in humans falling in love with vampires, and he certainly does not find it amusing in any way that enough people know about vampires to have formed hunter groups. He saw the vampires as a dying species on the earth, and frankly they needed to be reeducated in order to learn that the liberal way they were living was not okay, and far from it. Tori has made a case about her friends for a while now, and he'll give all the humans in her newly found friend group the chance to turn, he after all cares for Tori, but he won't stand for the new aged vampire human couplings he found were going on all too often on Earth.

He's dying, he knows that, he knew that when he was strong enough and coherent enough to remember his name, but he wanted to straighten a few things out while he could. He knows that the longer he spends on Earth's dimension the length of his life will be severely diminished. He has to find a witch to get rid of the poison that's slowly killing him. His mark, or as it's been referred to on Earth is nothing more than the poison. It's destroying him, slowly creeping its way to his heart, and in due time, even he won't be able to claw his way back to the land of the living. Perhaps, maybe once this is all over he'll just give up; after all, Peter and Marcus are worthy replacements, they'll carry his plan well into the future. Tori, well, that certainly is a problem, he'll have a hard time saying goodbye to her, but he hopes she won't dwell on it, and as for whomever else, well he just hopes they'll never know his weakness.

He gets flashbacks from his past before finding himself on that desolate moon, but he doesn't want to remember it, so he doesn't dwell on the images his broken mind tries to shove into his face. Why would he anyways? He found that he was alone, discarded on a plain of ash on a desolate moon, forever abandoned into the dark. He holds no grudges, partly because he can't remember who left him, and also because he's not that type of person. He knows that he's the type of vampire to find a way to get even, but somehow this just seems like a different case, and plus he's a leader now, he can't afford the childish games that come with "getting back" at those who hurt him in the past. If he ever found those who left him, which he's sure he will, he would like to ask them one simple question, "Why?" The rest of the words will speak for themselves, so they won't need to be discharged from his lips, but surely he's owed an answer to that question, if nothing else. Then again, would he really want the answer? Probably not, but it's his curiosity that will cause him to find out what the regrettable details are.

He will go topside when his army has finally locked in on the numbers of the opposing forces. He certainly doesn't want to kill them, he wants to subdue them. They're all vampires after all, and he's not the bad guy, which many vampires can agree with. He's given each and every human in love with a vampire an ultimatum: turn, die, or be compelled into oblivion, but he'll never settle for a human knowing that vampires exist, the possibility of hunters is too strong. Besides, when all the vampires move into the Dark Dimension, they'll be slaves anyways. He remembers flashbacks from his previous life, and he knows that hunters nearly wiped out the vampire populations; it's too dangerous to face that again. It's for the species' own good, and the rest of them know it now even if they didn't want to face the facts at first. He's not unreasonable he's just fed up with the way things are going. This, in some weird way, he supposes could be his way of getting back at the injustices done to him, but it's more than that.

Princess Jesselyn, when he found her, told him of how he came to her seeking to be turned back into the powerful creature he once was, she claimed he used her, but he denied every charge, besides he couldn't even remember what took place, but when she persisted, he told her that he'd be loyal to her, so for fifty years he was with her, building up her armies and spreading her domain throughout the dimension. After one hundred years, he became a partner to her, and now there's no longer a hierarchy among them, they're reaching a common goal together. He knows that he'll need to go topside, to show himself for the final campaign, to meet Tori's friends face-to-face, and to inform those who are putting up futile attempts at forming an army against him, that he's doing this in their best interest.

**AN: Okay, I posted this early. Thank you so much, all my reviewers. This story will pick up, I swear. I decided to give you an insight into who the leader is. Surely, you've had ideas, right? Anyways, please, please, please, review and tell me whether or not you like it and who you think the leader is. Also, if it's not already obvious, who it is, then can you tell me who you think it might be. Now, the more reviews I get the faster the chapters will be up. I certainly hope that this story is good, please tell me what you think. Once again I'm repeating myself, if you haven't learned that from any of my long ANs in ****_Oh, Brother_**** or ****_Save Me_****, then I'm sorry. I tend to ramble. **

**I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks the show took a terrible turn in the season finale, I'm sorry Delena fans, but I was a Delena fan in the first season, I mean I liked the idea, but I gotta say that reading the books and the longer that I watched the show I was pushed to Stelena, besides, when it actually started happening, like when she kissed Damon and all that, I was so upset. They don't fit together at all, and Elena is a slut, there I said it. You can't go from one brother to the next. You can't sleep with both brothers still not knowing who you love. It should have always been Stelena, and without a doubt the love triangle will continue once again in season 5, because at the end of season 3, we all thought Elena finally made her choice, and now at the end of season 4, we all think that she once again finally made her choice. The books are way better, I used to say that the show beats out the books, but now the books are way better. They put more focus on the relationship between the brothers. Spoiler alert: Sorry, but when Damon was being attacked, and on the verge of dying, he tried to send a message to Stefan that he was sorry, because he finally realized that his brother is the most important person in his life. This was before he met Sage in the Dark Dimension. Anyways, done with rant. **

**If you haven't read the books, I'm sorry, but this story is a huge spoiler of the ****_Hunters Trilogy_****. I did warn you, however. Thank you for taking your time to read my AN, and most of all reading this story. Thank you to those of you who reviewed as well.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, in response to the person who wanted to translate this story to Chinese, I need you to PM me about that, so I can discuss things with you in more detail, okay. So, if you really want to do this, you will PM me. I'm not opposed to the idea; I'd just like to discuss things with you. Anyways, thank you so much for your support. I love all of you, and I read the reviews daily. Please continue to review. Reviews are love, people. Thank you again.**

Chapter 5: I Know You

He's back; the darkness is suffocating and heavy. It weighs him down as he makes his way through it, still not knowing where he's supposed to go. He tries to find something familiar, because his brain is telling at him, or more like yelling at him to remember. Remember, what though? He doesn't know. He finally sees a small light in the distance, and he makes his way toward it. He's now knee deep in the ash, and the ash is falling heavier and heavier now, but it never lets up.

The closer and closer he gets to the light, he thinks he can see a person, or rather something in the middle of it. Whatever it is, it looks like its skin and bones and also like it shouldn't be standing. Something about the figure is familiar, though. He finally enters the light and that's when he notices that no ash is falling, in fact he's now back on the moon, staring up at the tree, with everything happening once again in slow motion. Stefan can only watch as his brother dies once again. He doesn't even scream, in fact it's his other self that's doing all the yelling. He watches as he lets his brother go, how Elena steals what's left of his brother's consciousness from him, and then they must flea. Stefan's now standing where he was, before, behind a figure, barely there, swaying and unsteady on the ground. He blinks as he looks around. The ash is unsettled, like someone just dug their way out of it.

He looks back up at the figure, as he turns around, slowly. Stefan takes in a breath of disbelief. "I know you?" The man says, in a faint whisper of a voice.

Stefan only watches as the man falls down to the ground on his knees and his hands fall open letting two locks of hair fall from his grasp. Stefan comes down seconds later, and looks into the man's searching eyes. Stefan doesn't dare touch the man in front of him. All he does is choke back a sob, and that seems to grab the man's attention nonetheless. The man looks up at him with a furious gaze.

"You! You, left me! How could you!" He suddenly falls forward, unable to hold himself up. Stefan catches him, and watches as the final breaths leave him, and his eyes roll back up into his head as he succumbs to the darkness once again.

"I'm sorry, I'm so, so, so sorry. I never wanted this!" Stefan cries, suddenly finding his voice. He clutches his brother close to him, the limp body succumbing to his strength.

He's suddenly awake, sitting up in his bed, hyperventilating. He quickly composes himself and looks over to the sky, which he's able to see in his window, its dark, and it couldn't be clearer, but it doesn't seem to fit the mood of things. Stefan doesn't even know why he seems to have those nightmares all the time. It's not like he was even thinking of his brother before he fell asleep, and yet here he is waking up from yet another unsettling nightmare. He should ask Mrs. Flowers about them, because surely, she'd be able to put a stop to them, but those nightmares are the only way he gets to see his brother, and gets to feel the guilt that he knows he should never stop feeling. He left his brother and there's no excuse for that. He let Elena take up all his time with his brother, but he knows he can't hold it against her. She cared for his brother, too. He decides that he's going to go for a walk; he'll be back later anyways. He just needs time to clear his head of all the chaos that he's facing right now. He misses his brother, but he knows that he can't go on like this forever, perhaps if he faces his fears; he might even stop the nightmares himself. He needs to face the fact that the future is severely different from what it was two years ago.

**AN: Sorry for the shortness of the last couple of chapters, but things will start to pick up. What do you think? Stefan's feeling guilty as ever and the looming threat of the vampire looking to take over the world isn't getting any better. Anyways, please, read and review. Thank you.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: You?

Stefan Salvatore can't help but feel lost without his older brother. This situation that he's currently facing, alongside his friends, is yet another adversary that he must face in his eternity. Now, he must face them alone. His friends will all die one day, and he'll once again be alone, but now he'll be alone for real, because his brother won't be on his heals trying to make his life miserable. Gosh, it seems like forever, since he's last thought of his brother, but so much has happened, and now that he has time to himself, he can't stop his mind from wandering back two years to think of his brother and the handful of good times that they've had together. He knows that Damon, before he met and fell in love with Elena and became infatuated with Bonnie, would have advocated for this guy's point of view. He believed that humans and vampires should be left alone, and that if the Dark Dimension was fixed up, it would be a fabulous place for vampires to thrive, but after he followed Stefan to Fell's Church all that changed. He even started to consider modern technology, such as cell-phones and video cameras. If anyone could stop this vampire from achieving his goal it'd be his brother, but Damon's no longer here. Stefan can't even give him a proper burial, and as much as he doesn't want to admit it, it's Elena's fault.

In his dreams he either meets his brother's corpse or he's met with his brother, not remembering one single thing about him or his life previous to the demonic tree incident. That in itself is a curse, because not only is his brother alive, but he's dead at the same time. Stefan can still remember his nightmare from the night before.

He despises her in some respects, but how can he hold it against her. It's useless, futile. He's five hundred years old and only getting older, he's the older more responsible one, and besides what good would it do to hold a grudge? His brother, despite what people thought didn't like to hold grudges, but he saw use for them. He was very good at getting even with someone who'd wronged him, and he was also very good at repaying a debt to someone who'd righted him. He always kept his word, and he was a natural leader.

He walks along the side of the street alone, taking in the surroundings. People are going to and fro, and he's just a ghost wandering along the sidewalk with them. He's alone, and people don't even care. He can't help but wonder if Tori is going to show up again. It's been a day since he's last seen Ethan, and without a doubt Ethan is expanding his armies. He knows it won't do any good, this vampire is successful, in what Klaus wasn't, in what Michael wasn't. Long before Stefan or Damon even came to Fell's Church, Stefan remembers Damon being involved with a mercenary of sorts, where he tried to gather up a vampire army for his master or leader, Michael. Stefan remembers Damon's eyes and expression held pride when Damon informed him of his methods and mission. He never did understand the mission fully, but he knows that it was similar to what's being accomplished now.

"I can't believe that you're here!" He hears Tori's voice exclaim happily.

Stefan wants to get a look at who she's talking to, without a doubt it's probably the leader that is causing so much trouble, but he can't be sure. It was just a hunch at the fact that Tori's the girlfriend of the vampire idealist, but the more he thinks about it, he may be accusing an innocent girl of this horrid connection. He regrets it, to be honest. He can hear her voice, but he can't see her.

"Well, of course I came." A male voice responds. It's heavy with an Italian accent, and Stefan thinks that he remembers the voice, but he can't. For some reason, the voice is one that he can't remember. It's not that he doesn't want to; it's that he can't hear it, because it's impossible.

"Well, I do wish that you'd considered my pleas." She states

"Oh, but they're my friends, surely that must mean something to you." plainly.

"I did," He responds, "And you know that I cannot."

She pleads.

"You know that everything hinges on this, and I cannot afford to be partial." He says.

Stefan shakes his head and turns in the other direction and walks away. Okay, if that wasn't weird then he's not Stefan Salvatore. He knows that he should know that voice, but part of his mind is telling him that it's impossible. Impossible, what? It's that part of his brain that is keeping the other part from informing him who that voice belongs to.

He finds his way back the boardinghouse only to be confronted by a happy Elena, saying that Tori's called and her boyfriend is in town, and that she's not the one dating the vampire seeking to take over the world.

Before he knows what's happening he's already at a restaurant, sitting with Elena and the rest of his friends, waiting for Tori and her boyfriend that they all have yet to meet. He wonders how he got here, but his brain is too busy conflicting with itself. It's when Tori sits down in front of him, and her boyfriend joins her that his brain finally stops fighting against itself and faces the facts that's been thrust into his face.

Stefan swallows hard; it's his brother, sitting right in front of him. He's wearing all black, with black gloves that don't cover his fingers. He's dressed, not in his usual black attire with a leather jacket and jeans, but in a more sophisticated and important look. His black hair is slicked back and his ring is not on his finger, instead the buttons on his shirt are all made of the stone. His brother does, however, still plaster that same smirk on his face. He can't even find words.

Tori finally speaks up, "Everyone, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend Damon, and, Damon, these are my friends, Elena, Stefan, Bonnie, Matt, and Meredith."

What the hell? And even more shocking are the words that come out of Damon's mouth, next, "Nice to meet you, Tori here has told me so much about you all." He kisses the girls hands and then shakes Matt's hand. He then reaches for Stefan's hand, and Stefan shakes it. Shouldn't they be hugging? After all they are brothers, right? Is Damon joking?


End file.
